5 Ways to up Your Protein Intake If You’re Vegan

1. Lentils  18 grams of protein. That’s how much protein you’ll get in a cup of cooked lentils. Unless you’re big on curry, you might not be that…

When you announce you’re going vegan, one question you’re guaranteed to hear is: ‘But how will you get enough protein?’

And it’s not a bad question, but it honestly isn’t any harder to get protein as a vegan than it is as a meat eater.

All that being said, if you’re switching from meat eater to vegan it can seem like a somewhat impossible task to find protein sources outside of meat. Don’t sweat it.

Lifesum’s new Vegan For A Week plan is perfect if you’re already considering the switch to a vegan lifestyle, but even if you’re not, it can be helpful to know about non-meat sources of protein.

Here are a few great vegan sources of protein:

1. Lentils Close up of a pile of raw lentils, isolated on white background

18 grams of protein. That’s how much protein you’ll get in a cup of cooked lentils. Unless you’re big on curry, you might not be that familiar with them – but they’re good for more than that – you can put them in salads, and in soups, and you can ground up lentils for lentil flour and make breads, pizzas and pastas.

2. Wild Rice 

Not only is this a great source of protein, but it’s also a great source of fibre, copper, and vitamin B. You can eat it as a side, add it to a salad, or incorporate it into a stir fry.

3. Spirulina green, nature, plant, white, algae, spirulina, dry, crushed, powder, health, background, seaweed, alga, seaware, powdered, beauty, biology, herb, industry, longevity, medical, medicine, useful, skin, hair, heart, blood vessels, biological, active, marine

This stuff is kind of strange – it’s an algae, so you probably won’t eat it straight up. What you can do with it, is mix it into smoothies and put it in energy balls. A simple little protein boost that you won’t even taste.

4. Chickpeas Isolated uncooked chickpeas on white background.

If you like hummus, you have chickpeas to think. These protein powerhouses contain around 15 grams of protein per cup and are incredibly versatile. You can make butter, use them to add fullness to a soup or add them to casseroles.

5. Tofu Organic tofu isolated on a white backgroundIncludes clipping pathPlease see some similar images from my portfolio :

If you’re big on eggs, the idea of going vegan can be daunting. Tofu is great because you can make tofu scrambles, bake it, sauté it, or fry it. Use it to replace meat in dishes you’d usually make, or just add it to veggie meals.

Feeling reassured? If not, don’t sweat it. Try Lifesum’s Vegan For A Week Plan for lots of other ways to eat vegan and stay nutritionally balanced.

 

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